Elevator.



No. 658,587. Patented Sept. 25, I900. a. H. REYNOLDS.

ELEVATORQ (Application filed July 17, 1900.)

(No Model.)

. w W /NV TOF/ A TTOBNEYS THE mums PETERS co. Pnm'auma. WASHWGTON. n c

JNETED STATES PATENT OFFICEu GEORGE E. REYNOLDS, OF NEW YORK, N.ASSIGNOR TO THE OTIS ELEVATOR COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

ELEVATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 658,587, datedSeptember 25, 1900.

Application filed July 17,1900- Serial No. 23,875, (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE H. REYNOLDS, a citizen of the United States,residing at New York, borough of Manhattan, State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Elevators, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to certain improvements in rope-driven elevatorsof that type for which Letters Patent were granted to Ethelbert M.Fraser respectively on September 6, 1898, and December 20, 1898, Nos.610,481 and 616,096, and which is based on the combination of thedriving-rope, suspension-ropes, car, and its counterweight, with twomotors, which are adapted to run in opposite directions at the same ordifierent relative speed, my improvement being designed with a View ofproducing the synchronous running of the motors whenever the car isstopped by means of a friction device, which is applied to disks on themotor-shafts simultaneously with the stopping of the car andautomatically removed therefrom as soon as the car moves in one or theopposite direction by the differential speed imparted to the motors.

For this purpose my invention consists of an elevator which comprisestwo motors which are adapted to run in opposite directions at the sameor at different relative speeds, pulleys on the shafts of said motors,an endless driving-rope connecting said pulleys with intermediatetraveling pulleys, suspensionropes connecting said traveling pulleyswith the car and its counterweight, and a friction device which isapplied to the motor-shafts whenever the motors are run at the samespeed and released whenever the motors are run at differential speed.

The invention consists, further, of an elevator comprising two motorsthe shafts of which are adapted to run in opposite directions at thesame or at diiferent relative speeds, pulleys on the motor-shafts,intermediate traveling pulleys, an endless drivingrope passing over themotor-pulleys and the traveling pulleys, and an electrically-operatedfriction device which is applied to the motor-shafts whenever the motorsare to be run at equal speed, but released from the motor-shafts whenthe motors are to be run at differential speed for moving the car in oneor the other direction.

The invention consists, further, of certain details of construction andcombination of parts, which will be fully described hereinafter andfinally pointed out in the claims.

The accompanying drawing represents a diagrammatic side elevation ofmyimproved rope-driven elevator with my improved friction device shownas applied to the motorshafts.

Referring to the drawing, A A are two motors, which are adapted to berun in opposite directions to each other at the same or at differentspeeds.

B and O are driving-pulleys on the shafts of the motors, which arerotated independently of each other.

D is an endless driving-rope which passes around both driving-pulleys Band O and around traveling pulleys E and F. The traveling pulley E isconnected by a rope G, which passes over an overhead sheave G, with thecounterweight W of the car I, while the traveling pulley F is suspendedfrom the weightsupporting straps r and the latter connected bya rope H,passing over an overhead sheave H, with the car I. The counterweight Wacts not only as a counterweight for the car and its load, but securesalso the frictional contact of the endless driving-rope with theperipheries of the driving-pulleys B and O, the weight of the car andits load being in certain fixed proportion to the counterweight.

The elevator so far described is practically the elevator shown anddescribed in the Fraser patents referred to. A certain difficulty wasexperienced in operating this type of elevators, which consists in thelack of synchronism of the motors when it is desired to bring the car toa state of rest at the different landings. This lack of synchronisminduces the car either to come to a stop before it arrives at itsposition of rest or. to move slightly beyond this position before itcomes to a stop. This forms a serious objection to this class ofelevators, and it is therefore necessary for remedying this defect tointroduce an additional element-name1y, a friction device which is putin action and applied at the proper time to the motor-shafts, so as tocompel them to run synchronously when the car is to be stopped and tocontinue this synchronous speed during the time the car is stopped,while as soon as the friction device is disconnected or released fromthe motors they are run at different speeds, so as to move the car inone or the other direction.

The friction device consists of two disks M and N, which are keyed tothe motor-shafts, and of two movable friction-disks m and n, which areplaced in contact with each other and in intermittent contact with theperipheries of the disks M and N whenever it is desired to stop the car.The friction-disks m and 'n. are supported by pivot-links 0 0 at the endof the core S of a solenoid S, which core is acted upon by a helicalspring S interposed between the outer end of the core and a suitablestop-plate S as shown at the lower part of the drawing. The solenoid Sis placed in electric circuit with a controllingswitch T in the car insuch a manner that the current is supplied to the solenoid when the caris in motion, or, in other words, when the motors are running atdiiferential speed,while at the moment when the switch-lever is placedinto a central position 'for stopping the car the circuit of thesolenoid is interrupted and the latter denergized, so that the spring Swill immediately act on the core S and force the friction-disks m andit, carried by the same, into contact with the friction-disks M and N onthe motor-shafts, so that the accelerating action exerted by thatfriction-disk of the motor running at a greater speed on theintermediate friction-disks m and n will immediately exert anaccelerating action on the friction disk of the motor running at slowerspeed, so that the speed of the motors is quickly synchronized, andconsequently the almost instant stoppage of the car ob-. tained.

Supposing that the car is moving in downward direction and the motor Arotated at a greater speed than the motor A, when the car is to bestopped the switch-lever is placed in its central position, in whichposition the current flowing through the solenoid is interrupted and thecore moved by the action of its spring in lateral direction, so as tobring its friction-disks m and 'n in contact with the friction-disks Mand N on the motor-shafts. 3

The friction-disk M,rotating at greater speed, imparts an acceleratingaction to the intermediate disks on and n, which are in contact witheach other and with the circumferences of the friction-disks M and N,and exerts thereby an accelerating motion on the friction-disk N, whilethe motion of the frictiondisk M is retarded. This action producesquickly the synchronism of the motors, so that they rotate at the samespeed and bring thereby the car to a direct or positive stop, the motorscontinuing at synchronous speed as long as the car is at rest. As soonas the car is to be moved again in either direction the position of theswitch-lever is changed, the diiferential speed which is necessary toproduce the motion of the car in one or the other direction isreestablished, and simultaneously therewith current supplied to thesolenoid, so that the core is drawn back against the tension of itsspring, the frictional contact between the friction-disks m n and thefriction-disks M N interrupted, and the normal running of the elevatorunder the differential speed of the motors produced.

The motors employed may be electrical or any other motors, while theconstruction of the elevator may be according to any arrange ment, as Ido not desire to confine myself specially to the construction shown. Atthe same time any other arrangement of synchronizing friction-gear maybe used, as will be apparent to anyone conversant with elevatorconstruction. Neither do I desire to confine myself to-the electricalactuation of the friction-gear, as this may be accomplished either byhand, pneumatically, or otherwise.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The combination, with an elevator-car and its counterweight, of twomotors adapted to be run in opposite directions to each other at thesame or at difierent speeds,connections between said motors,car andcounterweight,and a friction device applied to the motor-shafts forsynchronizing the speed of the motors when the car is to be stopped andreleased therefrom when the car is to be put in motion, substantially asset forth.

2. The combination, with an elevator-car and its counterweight, of twomotors adapted to be run in opposite directions to each other at thesame or at different speeds, connections between said motors, car andcounterweight,

a synchronizing friction device acting on said motors, and means foroperating said friction device so as to synchronize the speed of themotors whenever the car is to be stopped and reestablish thedifferential speed of the motors when the car is to be put in motion,substantially as set forth.

3. The combination, with an elevator-car and its counterweight, of twomotors adapted to run in opposite directions to each other at the sameor at difierent speeds, connections between said motors, car andcounterweight, asynchronizing friction-gear for said motors consistingof friction disks on the motorshafts, intermediate friction-disks placedin contact with each other, and mechanism to place the intermediatefriction-disks in .contact with the motor-disks when the motors are tobe synchronized and the ear stopped, my invention I have signed my namein presor to release the intermediate friction-disks ence of twosubscribing witnesses. from the motor-disks When the motors are to berun at differential speed for moving the REYNOLDS 5 car in one or theotherdirection, substantially Witnesses:

as set forth. PAUL GoEPEL,

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as GEO. L. WHEELOOK.

